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Can your feelings be sinful? 

Fr. Mike Schmitz reminds us that “sin and virtue do not reside in the emotions, they reside in the will.” Our emotions, whether positive or negative, don’t make us good or bad; what matters is how we respond to them. Use your emotions to choose and pursue the good!

What do you say when someone dies? How do you help those in their suffering? 

Jeff Cavins shares an emotional story of sitting next to a woman on a plane who’s brother just died. Follow Jeff as he takes you on the difficult but transformative experience of comforting the broken hearted.

What does it look like to turn a paycheck into purpose? In this episode of Called, Father Mike Schmitz sits down with Chris Green, President of Humanitarian Hotels, to explore how the hospitality industry can become a mission field. 

With over 35 years of experience, Chris shares how true leadership is about seeing people, creating meaningful culture, and using every gift for something greater. Discover how entire hotels are giving 100% of their profits to charity, why authentic service transforms both staff and guests, and how you, too, can step fully into the person God made you to be.

Young people—and their struggles with mental health—have much to teach us about dealing with our own mental health struggles, Archbishop Richard Smith told attendees at the Green Mass, held Oct. 24 at All Saints Church in Coquitlam.

The Green Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Smith, was offered for the work of mental health professionals and ministry volunteers in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, as well as to celebrate the launch of the Archdiocese’s Mental Health Ministry, coordinated by Jane Waldock, who welcomed those attending.

During his homily, Archbishop Smith drew on a conversation he had with a group of teenagers about mental health. After he asked how they and their friends were doing, they immediately began to speak of anxiety and described pressures faced by young people today, especially from social media.

“They told me they were getting messages and seeing images about what makes a person popular, successful, noticed,” said Archbishop Smith. “They felt they weren’t measuring up, couldn’t measure up, and told me it was leaving them and many of their peers anxious or depressed, and they even spoke of friends with suicidal ideation.”

This sense of “not measuring up” is not unique to young people, he said. “People of all ages struggle with that constantly.”

In the case of those teenagers, “they were comparing themselves with illusions spread through social media,” said the archbishop. This happens to all of us and leads to the trap of comparing our real world with the imaginary world on social media: “that classmate is so talented, this colleague is so happy, their children are so well adjusted and so on, without knowing the facts of the matter,” he said.

“We compare our real difficulties and limits with what we imagine the situation of others to be and draw the conclusion that we cannot and will not measure up to some illusory standard of happiness or false image of perfection. This can lead to frustration and despair.”

He said the conversation with the teenagers shows how natural and human it is to experience mental health challenges. While sometimes there is a clinical dimension, he said, everyone experiences such challenges at some point because of human limitation.

He added that it’s important to talk openly about those struggles. “They did not hesitate to bring their concerns out into the open with me,” he said.

Combat veteran Kelsi Sheren told an Ottawa news conference she joined the Canadian Armed Forces at 18 knowing she might die for her country, but she never imagined her own government would one day offer to help her do it.

“Behind closed doors, in quiet conversations, veterans are being offered medical assistance in dying not therapy, not recovery, not support, but death,” Sheren said. “When somebody’s drowning in trauma and desperation, that’s not a choice. That’s coercion wearing a polite face.”

The former artillery gunner and mental-health advocate spoke at a Euthanasia Prevention Coalition news conference with other anti-euthanasia voices calling on MPs to support legislation blocking the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to people suffering solely from mental illness.

Bill C-218 is a private member’s bill introduced in June by Conservative MP Tamara Jansen (Cloverdale–Langley City). The bill would permanently exclude mental illness as a sole qualifying condition for MAiD.

Sheren, who served in Afghanistan and lives with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and major depressive disorder, pointed out several incidents of veterans seeking help instead being “offered medical assistance in dying not therapy, not recovery, not support, but death.”

“This isn’t compassion,” she said. “It’s a moral rot disguised as mercy. Veterans are being told their lives cost too much money. That’s not health care, it’s surrender.”

Gordon Friesen, EPC’s president, said the coalition’s message was simple: “No euthanasia for mental illness.”

The government plans to expand MAiD to make it available to individuals whose only medical condition is a mental disorder. Friesen said that would violate the original safeguards promised when Parliament legalized assisted dying in 2016.

“MAiD was only to be for people who are dying, only for adults, and only for people able to truly choose,” Friesen said. “Unfortunately, all of those promises have been broken.”

Friesen warned that allowing MAiD for people with psychiatric disorders “destroys all notion of MAiD as an authentic patient choice,” since mental illness can directly impair judgment and decision-making. He cautioned that “once the door is opened,” other vulnerable groups such as children or people with dementia could follow.

EPC executive director Alex Schadenberg said the coming change “should never even be considered.”

He said Bill C-7, passed in 2021, removed the requirement that a person’s death be “reasonably foreseeable” and laid the groundwork for extending MAiD eligibility to non-terminal illnesses. Although Parliament has twice delayed the mental-illness provision, now set to take effect in March 2027, the expansion remains law.

What does it mean to be a missionary in everyday life? 

During the 2024 Good News Conference, Harvard professor and social scientist Arthur Brooks described the work of an ordinary missionary, called not to knock on doors, but to share a faith that is public, normal, and magnetic.

As we discover the lives of the saints, it seems they endured quite a bit of suffering before receiving their eternal reward. It begs the question, is it worth it? 

Fr. Mike reminds us that in this life, we will have suffering. The question is not, can you avoid suffering by avoiding Jesus? The question is, can your suffering be transformed by embracing Jesus?

In this episode, we talk about what it means to weather the storms of life well. Everyone experiences difficult moments throughout their lives and these storms come in all shapes and sizes. In each one, we have the opportunity to respond from a place of truth and peace instead of fear. We share practical ways we’ve learned to weather the storms in our own lives, from simplifying life to immersing ourselves in Scripture. We also explore how pain, though difficult, can lead us into deeper healing and communion with God. No matter what you’re facing, you are not alone—He is near, and so are we.

The divine drama of the Toronto Blue Jays’ postseason run isn’t lost on Father Terrence “Terry” McKenna, who continues to support his favourite team and find spiritual echoes hidden on baseball’s grandest stage.

The retired pastor of St. Mary Immaculate Parish in Richmond Hill, Ont., Father McKenna has long been a notable fan of the sport of baseball and the hometown Toronto Blue Jays. Just days after the team’s 5–2 win over the New York Yankees to advance to the American League Championship Series (ALCS), he shared his thoughts on the Jays’ remarkable charge — one that has now carried them all the way to the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, following their victory over the Seattle Mariners.

“It’s great to see how a lot of no-names, at least to the average public, have accomplished this athletic feat. These young men have chosen to believe in teamwork instead of being lone rangers, and they’re looking to make a name for themselves,” he said.

After ending the Yankees’ season with an exciting Game 4 win on Oct. 8 in the American League Division Series, Jays infielder Ernie Clement was caught rushing to join a team photo while in the midst of a post-game interview — a now-viral moment that Father McKenna points to as an example of the passion the 2025 team holds.

“When he left that interview and readied himself to get in the photo with his teammates, it was too late, and they had to start over, but it shows that everyone wants to be there. When you add up everyone doing their best, it’s a winning staff,” he said.

The Blue Jays’ current run marks their first appearance in the World Series since their back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993. Father McKenna said he still vividly remembers where he was when those titles were won.

“I can remember what I was doing the day they won in ’92 or ’93,” he said. “I was in Richmond Hill at St. Mary Immaculate, and I’ll never forget it.”

Father McKenna served at St. Mary’s for many years, with it holding the distinction of being the last parish he called home before being appointed to the Pearson Airport chaplaincy and retiring officially in 2021.

Now, with a little more time on his hands, the priest still keeps up with the team the old-fashioned way, preferring to follow the Jays in the sports reports on the radio rather than watching television broadcasts.

The 79-year-old said he continues to view the Blue Jays — and the sport of baseball itself — as a much-needed source of unity in a divided world.

“We need something that’s not about partisan politics, good versus evil, even Catholic versus Protestant or something like that.

Over 500 Chinese Catholics from St. Francis Xavier Church gathered at the Gardens of Gethsemani on September 7 for the Chung Yeung Festival, honouring their ancestors. 

Parish Pastoral Council secretary Karina Lai explained the significance of the festival in an email to The B.C. Catholic.

“In Chinese culture, it is customary to honour ancestors by visiting their tombs during the spring (Qingming Festival 清明節) and autumn (Chung Yeung Festival 重陽節), a practice known as Chun Chau Yi Jai (春秋二祭),” she wrote.

“At St. Francis Xavier Parish, Msgr. Peter Chow (周若漁蒙席), with his pastoral vision, established a tradition of celebrating Mass twice a year at the Catholic cemetery—uniting cultural reverence for ancestors with the Church’s prayer for the faithful departed, and reminding each generation to pray for them with Christian hope.”

As part of this tradition, a Chinese gloriette (永光亭) was built on the cemetery grounds. Lai noted that its plaque, bearing the name Wing Kwong Ting, was handwritten by Rev. Aloysius Lou (盧湛明神父), symbolizing “both cultural heritage and faith.”

Lai reported that the celebration has grown and this year the parish’s community life was on full display. “Since the pandemic, many new families from Hong Kong have joined our parish. This autumn, more young families joined the Autumn Tomb Festival (秋祭), with some children serving as Altar Server,” she wrote. “On the eve of the Mass, volunteers cleaned the gloriette and the tombs of Chinese priests and sisters. Sacristans and sisters prepared vestments and sacred vessels, while parishioners and AV technicians set up tents, instruments, and sound equipment.”

On the day of the Mass, parishioners brought flowers to honour loved ones and past priests. “One parishioner family even came from Bellingham, Washington—despite serious illness—a moving witness to the deep bonds of faith and family,” wrote Lai.

Reflecting on the celebration, she concluded: “Through this festival, we experienced love, prayer, and unity. It was more than a cultural observance—it was an act of evangelization. By weaving Chinese tradition with Catholic faith, we pass on to our children that honouring ancestors is not only about remembering the past, but also about placing our hope in Christ, who promises eternal life.”

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